Q is for Qpid
by Linwe Ringeril
Summary: Q pays the crew of Voyager a little visit on Valentine's Day... but there's one setback. He's erased all their memories, and they'll fall in love with the first person they see. Of course something happens that he doesn't expect...JUST READ IT!
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own the characters or Star Trek, but I do own the story. Live long and prosper. -Linwe**

**Q is for Q-Pid Part I**

Kathryn Janeway lifted herself from the command chair. Finally. The duty shift had seemed to last forever, although Tuvok would be quick to remind her, it was as long as any other duty shift. She nodded to Chakotay to take the bridge and then turned and headed to her ready room. She would get some reports to look over in bed and maybe get a cup of tea to soothe her headache.

As she strode over to her desk to pick up the reports, she noticed a single red rose on the desk. She was confused. Hadn't she told Chakotay she _only_ wanted to be friends? Why did he keep trying? She picked up the rose. Still…he was so sweet. But what was the occasion? Not her birthday, it was February, not May. Wait…. February!

"Happy Valentine's Day, Kathy."

She knew that voice. She didn't like it. Before she could whirl around, he came up behind her, slipped his arms around her, holding her firmly. "Do you like the rose, Kathy?" He whispered in her ear.

"Q!" She yelled angrily, wiggling free of his embrace. "What are you doing here?!" Just then the doors of her ready room opened and Chakotay and Tuvok burst in, phasers in hand. Q merely winked at her and snapped his fingers, vanishing before the two men saw him.

"Kathryn, what's the matter? We heard you yell so we came in." Chakotay said.

"Are you injured?" Tuvok asked.

"I'm…I'm fine." She said.

"What happened?" Chakotay asked, seeing the rose on the floor.

"Q paid me a visit." She saw Chakotay stiffen.

"What did _he_ want?"

"I don't know. He didn't say, he vanished when you two burst in."

"Judging by his usual behavior, we can assume he will come back. He obviously wants something, Captain." Tuvok said.

"Agreed. Post security teams throughout the ship. If anyone sees him, have them report to you immediately."

"Aye, Captain." Tuvok said and then left. Chakotay lingered.

"Is there something else, Commander?" she asked. He hesitated.

"Uh… yes. Actually there is. Do you want to join me for dinner tomorrow night? Tom reactivated the old Sandrine's program for Valentine's Day. Everyone's going to be there. Seven's even going with Harry."

"I… I'm sorry, Chakotay, I can't." He looked crushed. It tore her up inside.

"Very well… but Kathryn, tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Couldn't you take some time off from work?" He knew her so well. He knew she'd say she had too much work to do.

"Chakotay, it's not that, it's not work."

"Then what is it?" He wouldn't back off.

"It… it's…you." She hated herself for what she'd just said. She wanted him so bad, but she couldn't.

He looked at her as though she had just stabbed him in the heart. He kind of cringed and she saw tears in his beautiful brown eyes that made her melt. He did some sort of weird nod and walked out quickly. Kathryn could tell she had hurt him deeply, but she also knew he had had a romantic dinner in mind. He was not one to give up easily, but she'd never been so blunt in trying to push him away. Her heart didn't want him to back off, but the captain inside said simply, "no."

She scoped up a few padds with reports on them and headed to her quarters, blind with tears.

"How interesting," thought Q to himself. He had observed the whole conversation as a speck of dust of Kathryn's desk. "Kathy loves him, definitely. I don't have a chance. But maybe I can show her a good Valentine's Day anyway…

Kathryn couldn't fall asleep. No matter how tired she was. No matter how hard she tried… sleep would not come. She tossed and turned, thinking about what had happened earlier that evening. He'd probably never speak to her again. "He probably hates me." She thought miserably. "Why did I say that?" She buried her face into her tear-soaked pillow and couldn't stop a fresh flow of tears from coming. She suddenly felt a hand on her shaking shoulders.

"There, there, Kathy." Said Q's voice softly in her ear. "There's no need to cry."

She looked up and jumped out of her bed and backed against the wall, using a sheet to cover her even though she wore a thin silk nightgown. "Get out now!" she yelled. He rose from her bed and came toward her.

"But don't you even want to know why I'm here?" She didn't move. "Well, Kathy, I'm here because tomorrow's Valentine's Day and… I want to have a little fun."

"What do you mean?" She didn't like the sound of "a little fun," especially coming from him.

"What I mean is, since I like you and your crew so much, I'm going to give you all a fresh start tomorrow in the love department."

"Excuse me?" She was confused.

"To put it within your comprehension, Kathy, tomorrow when you and your crew wake up you won't remember a thing about yourselves. Not only that, but since it's Valentine's Day, I'll make it so you all fall in love with the first member of the opposite sex you see."

She just looked at him in a very strange way and was finally able to rasp, "Are you serious?"

"Of course! But don't worry, when Valentine's Day is over you'll all regain your memories."

She couldn't take this. Not this late at night. Not after the whole Chakotay thing. She let out a single sob and sunk to the floor, back against the wall, head in her hands. "M…maybe it's better this w… way." She sobbed as Q crouched next to her. He had never known her to show any sign of weakness… until now. He was thoroughly puzzled. Was this a trick? "I'd rather forget Chakotay and that I c-can't be with him even though I…I l-love h-him."

Q was shocked. Genuinely shocked. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders as she sobbed and was again shocked that she didn't wriggle away from him. You must also know that this was a very awkward moment for our Q, not being the righteous type, and didn't know what to do. Should he act on her weakness and take advantage of her? That was his usual way, but not now.

"I think you should sleep now, Kathy." He said.

She looked up at him. He'd never seen her piercing blue eyes so filled with sorrow and tears. He found it unnerving. He snapped his fingers and she fell, unconscious against his chest.

As he lifted her into her bed, he thought of the day to come. "Don't you worry, Kathy. When you wake tomorrow, the first person you'll see… will be me." He tucked her in and then snapped his fingers and disappeared, planning and plotting.

_She was running down a corridor after someone. Chakotay. He was just ahead, she could reach him this time, she knew it. Just then, she slammed into a wall, a transparent wall that was saying "no, Kathryn. You can't have him, even though you love him. Protocol won't allow it, Starfleet won't tolerate it."_

_"No!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Chakotay! Don't listen to the wall! I love you, Chakotay, I'm sorry, Chakotay!" He wouldn't turn around to loom at her. "Is the wall blocking my voice? Doesn't he hear me?" she thought. Then she started banging on the wall with her fists. It was icy on her skin and hurt her fists. Meanwhile, the wall droned on. "It's your own fault, Kathryn, it was your own icy wall that kept him away and finally kept him out. For good. But don't worry, you did the right thing. You two can NEVER BE TOGETHER!"_

_"NO! NO! NO! NO!" she yelled, "Chakotay!" Everything turned to slow motion, she heard a clock chime 12, and Chakotay was finally turning around…slowly…slower. He was facing her and she could see tears in his eyes._

_"K…a…th…ry…n." he said in slow motion as the scene before her started melting away…._

He woke to the sound of a computerized voice saying, "0400 hours, 0400 hours." He shut it off automatically. Wait… where was he?

"My head hurts," he thought. "Wh…who am I? What's going on?" He opened his eyes. He was in a bed with a gray bedspread, and the room was pretty plain except for a few ritualistic looking decorations. He got up and walked automatically toward a closet and pulled it open. He put on some brown slacks and a white tunic. He then walked to a mirror and found that he had a tattoo above his left eye, noting that it too looked ritualistic. He heard the hum of engines as well. He must be on a starship. He also saw uniforms in his closet that probably suggested some command structure. "I'll just have to go exploring. " he resolved to himself and exited his quarters.

Q checked the time. 0400 hours. He sat in the mess hall plotting still what to do when Kathryn awoke and fell in love with him. He considered not restoring their memories, but then decided against it. The Kathryn he knew and loved was of no real use without her memories. A one-day-fling would be fun, but he found her more entertaining with her memories intact.

She probably wouldn't wake for four more hours at least… he supposed he had enough time to knock a few planets out of orbit and be back before breakfast. He snapped his fingers and appeared in Kathryn's quarters. He noticed she was sleeping peacefully now and even had a slight smile playing across her lips. He knew her memory was gone and she was probably rid of all troubling dreams he knew she'd been having when he tucked her in. He leaned in close and ran a finger down her cheek. "I'll be back, Kathy." He whispered and then snapped himself away.

"Computer, access personal logs."

"Unable to comply, command code required."

"Computer… access this ship's crew roster."

"Information accessed."

He walked over to the console he'd been fiddling with and saw names of people that must be this ship's crew. No other information was given about the crew. He had explored his way down to main Engineering and had tried to access all the information he could about the ship he was on. Strangely, most of it had been blocked and other things required command codes. So obviously, he was in some kind of command structured-ship.

He had been exploring about an hour after waking up, only to find the ship's corridors deserted. He assumed the other people must still be asleep.

He scrolled down a list of male officers in alphabetical order, and he found a picture of himself. It was labeled "Commander Chakotay." So he was a commander? Not too shabby. He kept scrolling down until he came across the female officers. He accessed the list with pictures beside each name. The first woman listed was "Captain Kathryn Janeway." He looked at the other women, but he found that he kept scrolling back up again to look at this Kathryn Janeway. He just couldn't take his eyes off her auburn hair, her piercing gray-blue eyes, and her slender features.

There was also something about her… something familiar. Something tugged on his heart ever time he looked at her picture. He knew he had to find this Kathryn Janeway… but where????

She rolled over in bed and suddenly became aware of a computerized alarm droning on and on.

"0600 hours 0600 hours." It repeated. She instinctively turned it off. Why did her head ache? Why did her eyes sting? Had she been crying? Wait…

She bolted up and started panicking. "Where am I? What's going on? _Who_ am I?" she said aloud. She calmed herself by taking a few deep breaths, and when she was calm, she suddenly noticed the hum of engines. "I must be on a starship." She thought. "Maybe it has a voice-activated computer. I think I'll test that theory." Though she.

"Computer?"

"Beep, beep." It replied.

"What is the name of this vessel?" she asked it.

"U.S.S. Voyager, NCC-746565, Class Intrepid."

"Crew compliment?"

"150 personnel."

"Who is in command of _Voyager_?"

"Captain Kathryn Janeway."

Why did that name ring a bell? She put on a robe and walked into the living area of what she supposed were her quarters, digesting this information. She spotted a small viewer on a desk and walked over to it. She tapped the console and successfully accessed the crew roster. First she looked at the female officers. She came to Captain Kathryn Janeway. Now she knew why it sounded vaguely familiar! She was the captain. Then she accessed the male officers' names and pictures. The first one listed was a darkly handsome man with a tattoo over his left eye. His name was "Commander Chakotay." She couldn't take her eyes off him, no matter how hard she tried. There was something about him… something familiar. His dark brown eyes that she could get lost in, his dark skin, and tattoo.

Suddenly tears pricked her eyes and she didn't know why. She felt a great emotion, too. Loss? Sadness? Love? She didn't know. What she did know, was that she needed to find Commander Chakotay. Where could he be?

It was 0700. She should be awake now, unless she planned on sleeping in, which he doubted. "Oh, Kathy?" he called as he appeared in her quarters. They were deserted. "Kathy?" He searched her whole quarters, but she was no where to be found. "Odd." He thought. "She must've risen early. I certainly didn't expect that." Thought he, until realization hit him. "Kathy!" he called aloud. He had to find her before that snot-nosed, tattooed chuckles did.

"This ship is so big!" he thought. Captain Janeway could be anywhere. Maybe the computer could help. "Computer?"

"Beep, beep."

"Locate Captain Janeway."

"Deck 2."

"Specify?"

"Mess Hall."

"You'd better be there, Kathryn." He thought. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he turned toward a turbolift.

"It's all going according to plan." Thought Q. "Chuckles is going to deck 2, even though Kathy's headed to deck 4. While he's there, I'll get to Kathy before they have a chance to lay eyes on each other." He thought gleefully. He'd thought he'd made a terrible mistake before, letting Kathy get up without him knowing. He knew he should've been checking on her every hour, but he'd never expected her to rise early. "She hasn't seen him though. Although he must've somehow seen her." He thought. "And she won't! Not until it's too late and she's head over heels in love… with me!" he thought wickedly as he snapped his fingers.

"Deck 4?" she thought, flummoxed. "Hadn't I said deck 2? There must be something wrong with this turbolift." She had just asked the computer to locate Commander Chakotay, and it had said he was heading toward deck 2.

She had seen and talked to various crewmembers, all women she had noticed, and they didn't have any memories either. She, being the captain, told them to look at the crew roster for themselves and not to worry. She was trying to keep everyone's hopes up (some instinct told her to do so), even though she felt lost and scared herself. She'd also wondered why she'd only been seeing women crew members. She hadn't run into one man, even though she was only trying to find one--- Chakotay. She still didn't know why she was driven to find him, but some natural instinct told her she needed to find him, no matter what stood in her way (the powers of true love are an extremely powerful force, you know)

"She's not in here!" Chakotay thought, frustrated. "There must be something wrong with this damned computer!" He sank into one of the chairs at a table. He was in the mess hall, and she wasn't.

"Looking for someone?" asked a voice behind him. He sprung up. Wasn't the mess hall empty when he entered? He turned and saw a tall, dark haired man with a slightly receding hairline who was wearing on of the uniforms Chakotay had seen in his closet. He had a sly look about him, something Chakotay didn't like.

"Who are you?" Chakotay asked. "How's you get in here? I didn't see you come in."

"I am Q. Known to my friends as… Q." Chakotay thought that was a rather odd name.

"Q?"

"Yes, I'm part of an omnipotent race of beings called Q."

"What do you mean by omnipotent?"

"This." He snapped his fingers, and two scantily clad blondes appeared on each side of him smiling and giggling. Chakotay was amazed.

"How did you do that?" Chakotay asked.

"I told you. Oh, but you humans are so simple-minded. I did it with my omnipotent powers. I can do anything I want, go wherever I want, get whatever I want… anything."

"Fascinating." Said Chakotay, uncertainly. The thought of this being, being able to do whatever he wanted with those powers was unsettling. He briefly imagined what he would look like if he was snapped into space by this Q while he was taking a shower, or going to the bathroom, but then shook the thought away. He had a very bad feeling about this Q. "What do you want?"

"The same thing you do." Q said as he snapped his fingers and the girls disappeared. Chakotay felt panic rise in his chest.

"Kathryn!" he said almost whispering.

"Yep. I've become quite taken with Kathy, I must confess. She really is a great captain, but today, like you, she has no memory." An evil grin spread across Q's face. "Also, like you and everyone on this ship, she'll fall in love with the first member of the opposite sex she sees."

Chakotay stood, frozen. He'd seen her picture first on the crew roster. Was that why he couldn't get her out of his thoughts? Was that why he _needed_ to find her? Was that why he couldn't let Q near her, because he loved her? But did he really _love_ her, or was it just Q's spell? No. He knew it was deeper than that. But how deep? Suddenly, Q's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Now, I don't know how, Chakotay, but you caught a glimpse of her, but I'm going to make sure she doesn't see you. At least not until she sees me. I've done a good job of making sure she's trapped on deck 4 and that she only sees other women. The only person she'll fall in love with is me" With that he snapped his fingers and was gone

Kathryn Janeway banged her fist on the wall of the turbolift.

"Why the hell am I still on deck 4?" she pondered, frustrated. She'd been trying to take the turbolift to deck 2 for at least 15 minutes. She'd get in, order deck 2, and wind up on deck 4.

"Going somewhere, Madam Captain?" asked a clever voice from behind. She spun around to see a man dressed in one of the uniforms in her closet. He was tall, had dark hair, and was looking at her with a lecherous grin on his face. She didn't like it.

"Who the hell are you? And how did you get in here? I didn't hear you walk up from behind, and you certainly didn't walk off that turbolift." He raised an eyebrow. He didn't know why she wasn't falling head over heels in love for him. He would soon find out.


	2. Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, nor do I own Star Trek, Paramount does.**

**Live long and prosper. -Linwe**

_Author's note: now remember, Q has just presented himself to Kathryn thinking she'll fall in love with him. He's trapped Chakotay in the mess hall, and he trapped Kathryn on deck 4 so they won't see each other and fall in love. Got it?_

Q was staring at Kathryn waiting for her to do… something. Run into his arms, start kissing him, fall to her knees in awe when she feels the love for him…start ripping off his clothes… or hers… anything?

She hadn't moved. She just stared blankly at him.

"Kathy?" She just stared at him. "Kathryn?" he asked, calling her by her real name for the first time in a while.

"What?" she asked. "How did you get in here again?"

"Are you alright?" he said, still puzzling over why she didn't love him.

"Yes…" she said, confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm Q, but does that really matter?"

"Q? What kind of a name is that? How did you get here again?" Suspicion suddenly crept into her voice. "Do you have something to do with me not being able to get to deck 2? I need to get there, I'm looking for someone."

Q's selfish heart sank to the floor. "Who are you looking for?" he asked, knowing the answer, but dreading it terribly.

"His name is Commander Chakotay." She said, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

"Where have you met him before?" Q asked, puzzled. How could she know of him? She hadn't directly met him, Q would have been aware of that. Maybe she'd only seen his picture. That was, Q assumed how Chakotay knew of her, the crew manifest. Why hadn't he paid closer attention? You can't leave Humans alone for one second! They always get into trouble. He should've been more careful… hidden the crew roster like the logs and personal information. Kathryn's response interrupted his thoughts.

"I haven't exactly met him. I saw his picture." She paused. "You know what's strange? I can't seem to remember anything about my life. I've talked to some crewmen, and neither can they. Do you have something to do with that too?"

"I must admit I do, Kathy. I trapped you on deck 4, I made sure you only saw other women." He paused, and anger darkened his features. "I tried to make sure you didn't meet that stupid commander!"

Kathryn was dumbfounded. "If you can do all that, did you take our memories as well?" She said, coming closer to him.

"Yes." He spat, arms folded across his chest like a rebellious teenager.

"But… why?" Kathryn almost whispered to him.

He looked down at Kathryn with fiery eyes. "Because, Kathy, I feel for you something I've never felt for any other female in the universe." He took her hands. "I knew you would never return my affections, so, since today's Valentine's Day, I decided to give us a fresh start." He let go of her hands and turned away rather dramatically. "It was a perfect plan! I erase all your memories, you fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex (or the same sex, if that's what you prefer) you see---"

"Which would be you." She finished, hands on her hips.

"Exactly! Then you little commander, Chuckles or whatever it was would see some other woman and you would forget each other. Well at least for the day, anyway.."

She stared him in the eye for a moment and then said, "Q, I don't know much about myself, but I'm pretty sure I'm a reasonable person. Why not just tell me how you feel instead of going through all this trouble---"

"Because, Kathy, you love someone else, and you despise me."

"Despise you?" she asked. "Then you must've done something truly horrible for that." She looked him up and down. "And you don't strike me as the righteous type. No offense." She said. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Wait, who exactly do I love, Q?"

He turned away again. "The same person you're seeking now. Chakotay." He spat the name with pure hatred, and Kathryn feared for Chakotay.

"Yes!" Chakotay said aloud. When Q snapped away, he'd sealed the doors of the mess hall so Chakotay couldn't escape. But did that stop Chakotay? No way. He'd pried the doors open with his bare hands and made for the nearest turbolift. He was sure that Q was up to no good and that he had to find Kathryn.

To his great frustration, he'd found that the turbolifts weren't functioning either. Q was good, but maybe he had underestimated Chakotay. After all, he'd been careless enough to let Chakotay see (and therefore fall in love with) Kathryn.

Chakotay knew (somehow) that most starships contain Jefferies Tubes that go throughout each deck of the ship. They're usually used to reprogram power relays on certain decks, to assist in maintenance work, or in emergencies when turbolifts are malfunctioning or not functioning at all. He'd thought that perhaps he could use them to get to deck 4, where Q had Kathryn trapped. Maybe Q had overlooked them, thinking Chakotay would never think to use them. He'd figured it was worth a shot.

So now here he sat, in Jefferies Tube7, looking at a schematic of the Jefferies Tubes in the ship. Q had been careless enough not to seal the Jefferies Tubes, unless he had another trick up his sleeve, but Chakotay doubted it. His main focus was wooing Kathryn, not playing tricks on him, he knew that much.

He was so happy about something actually turning out in his favor, that he'd forgotten that he had no idea where to go. He read the schematic carefully. According to it, he had to go about 20 meters forward and he'd hit a door that led to deck 4.

He turned off the console with the schematic on it, and began crawling through the Jefferies Tube. "I'm coming, Kathryn." He whispered to himself. "I won't let that lecher get you."

"Kathy, will you at least give me a chance?" Q pleaded.

"A chance? Q, maybe if you hadn't taken my ship, erased our memories, trapped me on deck 4, and my first officer in the mess hall, put this little 'love curse' on all of us---"

"Please?" Q begged.

"This is absurd! Return our memories and please leave my ship at once!" She said in a commanding tone. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like herself again, although she wasn't quite clear on what "herself" was.

"Fine, Kathy. Then I guess I'll have to start from scratch. Again. This time I WILL be the first person you see…"

"No!" Cut in a deep voice that made Kathryn jump. She knew that voice…

"Not you!" Whined Q. "How did you escape the mess hall? I sealed the doors!"

"Did you think that would hold me?" Chakotay said rather heroically placing his hands on his hips. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kathryn blush.

"No!" Q cried as he grabbed Kathryn from behind so she couldn't move. "You can't have her. You won't. I'll erase your memories again. She'll love me, not you!"

"Q, you're mad. Let her go, or I'll---"

"No, Chakotay let me talk with him." Kathryn said. Chakotay's dark eyes sent a message to hers saying simply, "be careful."

"Kathy, you're such the diplomat, but this is no time for diplomacy. I've made up my mind. Now I'm going to erase your memories---"

"Hold it right there, Q." said a voice from behind Q.

"Q!" shouted Q, gripping Kathryn tighter. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, Q" said the tall, sandy haired Q. "The continuum's not at all pleased about what you've been doing. You've tampered with their minds too much already. If you continue to interfere with their lives and memories, your powers will be taken away."

"What? But--"

"No buts, Q. You need to come back to the continuum now--"

"But I--"

"Q, will their memory return?"

"Yes." Q spat.

"When?" the other Q asked.

"Tomorrow. 12:00 exactly."

"Good, then let's go."

Q just stared at the other Q for a long moment and then shot Chakotay a look of pure venom. He let go of Kathryn.

"Au revoir, Madam Captain. We _will _meet again." He said, and then disappeared.

Kathryn let a sigh of relief escape from her lips.

"Are you hurt?" Chakotay asked, coming to her side. She rubbed her arms where Q had gripped her.

"Maybe a bruise or two, but I'm fine."

"So… were you trying to find me?" he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yes." They stood there, awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

Kathryn knew that she loved him, as Q had said, but she didn't know anything about their relationship. Chakotay felt that he loved her more than anything else in the whole universe, but he didn't know what to say or do to show it.

She finally cleared her throat and looked up at him, but she got lost in his dark eyes, and was at a loss, for no words came out. They were just standing in the middle of a corridor outside a turbolift on deck 4, gazing into each other's eyes. Before they knew what was happening, they were drifting closer… closer… centimeters away. Their eyes never left each other, her blue/gray ones swimming in his dark brown ones.

She felt as if he was looking into her very soul with those dark eyes. She could feel his breath on her face as they came closer. Her eyes closed as their lips gently met in a tender kiss. She felt him wrap his strong arms around her, and she put her arms around his neck as the kiss intensified. If you had walked down that corridor at that moment, not only would you have been amazed at how lovingly they held each other, but you probably would've gotten second degree burns from the sparks flying.

After about a minute, they pulled back, realizing what they were doing. Kathryn's eyes were still closed and a content smile played across her lips. Chakotay still had his arms around her, and was looking down at her, thinking about how beautiful she was. She opened her eyes slowly, and met his.

They still stood like that for a time, until Kathryn's stomach growled really loud, completely disrupting the romantic moment.

"I guess you're hungry?" Chakotay asked while laughing at the stupidity of the moment.

"I haven't eaten a thing all day, have you?" she laughed.

"No," he answered. " I was a bit more concerned about not having any memory about who I was, where I was, and how I got here."

"Me too. What time is it?" Kathryn asked.

"Time for dinner." Chakotay said. "Care to join me?"

"Of course." She said while beaming.

So they strode down the corridor, arm in arm, toward the mess hall.


End file.
